UK Hair & Beauty Sector Data

Official government statistics and FOI data (2015-2025)

About This Archive

This is an independent collection of official UK government data about the hair and beauty sector, obtained through Freedom of Information requests and publicly available statistical releases.

Why This Exists:

Sector data is often fragmented across different government departments and buried in statistical tables. This archive consolidates key data points into accessible reports, providing transparency for salon owners, policy makers, researchers, and industry professionals.

What's Included

Data Coverage

Guiding Principles

1. Source Transparency

Every data point is traceable to its original government source:

2. No Cherry-Picking

Data is presented in full context:

3. Independence and interests

This archive is produced by Andrew Clelland through Salon Logic Ltd. It is not funded by industry trade bodies, membership organisations, government departments or any other outside organisation. Salon Logic Ltd also develops SalonLogic Pro, software for UK hair and beauty salons, so the author has a commercial interest in the sector. Every figure is traced to a source, and every correction is recorded in the Corrections Log.

4. Corrections Welcome

If you spot errors or have additional data sources, please contact us. We will update and acknowledge corrections promptly.

Data Sources

Government Departments & Agencies

Data Collection Methods

FOI Request References

All FOI requests can be independently verified using these reference numbers:

Methodology

Data Processing

Original government data is presented with minimal processing:

Quality Checks

Limitations

Government data has inherent limitations:

These limitations are noted where relevant in individual datasets.

How to Use This Data

For Different Audiences

For Salon Owners

  • Benchmark your business against sector averages
  • Understand regional market differences
  • Track sector trends over time
  • Verify claims made by industry bodies

For Researchers

  • Verifiable government data sources
  • Long time series for trend analysis
  • Regional breakdowns for geographic studies
  • Complete citation information provided

For Industry Professionals

  • Regional breakdowns available
  • Time series data
  • Benchmarking data
  • Apprenticeship statistics

For Policy Analysis

  • Statistics by time period and region
  • Historical data for trends
  • Regional variations across UK
  • Multiple economic cycles covered

Available Data

Data Reports

Business & Economic Data

Comprehensive market size data from consumer spending to business turnover (2018-2025)

  • £9.29bn total consumer spending (2025)
  • £6.10bn formal business turnover
  • 14,480 VAT-registered businesses (2023-24)
  • Regional breakdowns

Insolvency Statistics

Company insolvencies 2015-2025

  • Annual insolvency counts
  • Regional distribution
  • Comparative data (vs all UK businesses)
  • 10-year time series

Apprenticeship Statistics

England and Scotland apprenticeships (2015-2024)

  • Annual starts and completions
  • Completion rates
  • Demographics (age groups)
  • Advanced apprenticeships

Employment & Workforce Data

PAYE employment and self-employment statistics

  • Employment trends
  • Self-employment data
  • Workforce composition
  • HMRC data

Consumer Spending Data

ONS consumer spending statistics (1985-2026 Q2; ONS release of 30 September 2026)

  • 40-year spending trends
  • Inflation-adjusted figures
  • Per capita spending
  • Household expenditure data

COVID-19 Support Programs

Bounce Back Loan Scheme and government support data

  • BBLS and CBILS sector data
  • Loan amounts and distribution
  • Claims settled and arrears by turnover band
  • British Business Bank data

Company Demographics

Companies House business population data

  • Company registrations
  • Business types and structures
  • Regional distribution
  • 78,304 currently active companies

Company Register Tracker

Full Companies House register for SIC 96020, testing shell-company lifespan and address-clustering claims

  • 159,404 companies, all statuses (snapshot 19 September 2026)
  • Lifespan distribution of dissolved companies
  • Address-clustering analysis
  • Updated monthly

European VAT Rates & Thresholds

27-country comparison of hairdressing VAT rates and registration thresholds

  • VAT rates by country, 2025
  • Registration thresholds by country
  • UK comparison

Testing "The High Street Laundromat"

A claim-by-claim test of a widely-repeated shell-company report against the full Companies House register

  • Lifespan, growth, and address-clustering claims tested
  • The Cardiff "cluster" traced to a government admin artifact
  • What the data does and doesn't show

Ireland Employment Data

CSO employment and market analysis

  • Ireland CSO employment data (2007-2025)
  • VAT rate timeline and impact analysis
  • Self-employed vs employee breakdown by year (2007-2026)
  • Per capita employment comparisons

Sector Overview: Understanding Market Size

Three different measurements provide different perspectives on sector size:

1. Total Consumer Market (DEMAND SIDE)

ONS Consumer Spending Data (COICOP 12.1.1):

£9.29 billion (2025)
  • Total consumer expenditure on hair & beauty services
  • Includes ALL spending: formal salons, mobile operators, below-threshold businesses, cash economy
  • Measured through household surveys
  • Represents total market demand

2. Formal Business Economy (SUPPLY SIDE)

ONS Business Population Estimates (March 2025):

£6.10 billion turnover
  • 50,400 total businesses (VAT and/or PAYE registered)
  • 178,178 total employment
  • 161,261 employees
  • Scope: All VAT and/or PAYE registered businesses
  • Measured through business surveys and tax records

Note: The £3.19bn gap between consumer spending (£9.29bn, revised 15 October 2026 from £10.26bn) and formal business turnover (£6.10bn) reflects legitimate below-threshold operators, tips, measurement methodology differences, and some informal economy activity.

3. VAT-Registered Businesses Only (LARGE OPERATORS)

HMRC VAT Registration Data (2023-24):

£3.42 billion turnover
  • 14,480 VAT-registered businesses
  • Scope: Businesses with turnover above the VAT registration threshold (£85,000 until 31 March 2024; £90,000 from 1 April 2024)
  • Source: FOI2024/15284, extended to 2023-24 by FOI2026/87008 (verified tax data)
  • Most precise measurement but only covers larger businesses

The difference between formal business turnover (£6.10bn) and VAT-registered turnover (£3.42bn) represents approximately 35,900 businesses operating legitimately below the VAT registration threshold (£85,000 until 31 March 2024; £90,000 since). This estimate spans two different reference years (2025 vs 2023-24, a one-year gap) -- see business-data.html Section 3 for the caveat.

Understanding the Three Measurements

Why three different figures?

  • Consumer Spending (£9.29bn): Best for understanding total market size and demand
  • Formal Business Turnover (£6.10bn): Best for understanding the registered business sector
  • VAT-Registered Only (£3.42bn): Most precise measurement but excludes around 71% of businesses

None of these figures is "wrong" - they measure different aspects of the market. For comprehensive sector analysis, all three perspectives are valuable.

See the Business & Economic Data report for detailed analysis of these measurements and their implications.

Corrections and Questions

Every correction to a published figure is recorded, with the old value, the new value and the reason, in the Corrections Log. Common questions about sources and method are answered in the Data & Sources FAQ.

Download Formats

Data available in multiple formats:

Citation

When citing this data:

Clelland, A. (2026). UK Hair & Beauty Sector Data Collection. Retrieved from data.salonlogicpro.co.uk

For specific datasets, cite the underlying government source listed in each section.

Version History

Version 1.3 (October 2026)

Version 1.2 (August 2026)

Version 1.1 (October 2025)

Version 1.0 (October 2025)

Future Updates: Version history will track all additions and corrections to the archive.

Acknowledgments

This collection would not be possible without:

Contact

Questions or Requests

For:

  • Additional analysis
  • Different time periods
  • Regional breakdowns
  • Methodology clarification

Contact: andrew@salonlogic.co.uk

Updates & Corrections

To be notified of new data additions, or to report errors, contact the above email.

About

This data collection is maintained independently. See Independence and interests above for funding and commercial interests.

Compiled by: Andrew Clelland, Salon Logic Ltd
Background: 20 years in the salon industry as a salon owner and wholesaler; now builds software for salons.